CBS continues to own the other half of the franchise, which has included CSI, now in its 13th season; CSI: New York and CSI: Miami, which ended its run last year. CBS controls all domestic and international distribution rights for traditional TV and in new media. There are more than 700 episodes.

This is believed to be the biggest deal yet for Content Partners, which was created by Kram, formerly with William Morris, and Steven Blume, who worked for Brillstein Partners, as a way to provide liquidity to profit participants and content owners.

They raised $50 million to fund the company about five years ago from a number of investors including Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner. Other participants and employees include Krista Parkinson, a former William Morris agent; Brendan Haley, formerly of New Line Cinema and Warner Bros.; Paul Wachter, founder of the Wall Street group Main Street Advisors; and Lawrence Goldstein, a venture capitalist who co-founded Seed Capital Partners.

Initially they raised another $50 million in debt through JP Morgan. For the CSI deal, JP Morgan helped provide financing as did Bank of America.

"We saw that there was no way for people who owned profit participations to get any liquidity, so they could be waiting the rest of their lives to collect their money," Kram told The Hollywood Reporter in 2007. 'We felt if we could provide an opportunity for diversification to participant holders, it would be warmly welcomed."